News briefs 10.29.03

Now, what?

A
ground-breaking for the $22 million PaeTec
Park could be right around the corner. Attorneys are working out final
agreements for the state's $15 million share and an archeological study is
under way. The study has turned up foundations of structures from the
canal-era, according to Rochester Deputy Mayor Mitch Rowe, and the state
Historic Preservation Office has requested more digging.

There is a hitch in the relocation
of Empire Precision Plastics. The Rhinos plan to use the 26,000-square-foot
building at 460 Oak Street for their administration building and locker rooms.
Relocating Empire to a facility on Lee Road in the city is "more costly than we
thought," Rowe says. He did not give specifics. Additional financial assistance
for the move may come from the city or the state, Rowe says.

The problems with the relocation
don't affect the ground-breaking, Rowe says. The Rhinos, obviously, don't need
their offices or locker rooms until they start playing at the park.

PaeTec Park will be located in the
city's Brown Square neighborhood.

Quick cash

Add
the Civic Center Garage to the list
of assets the county has sold off to plug holes in its budget. The Lej approved
the sale to the four-member Civic Center Monroe County Local Development
Corporation at a recent meeting. Democrats opposed the move.

The Corporation, created exclusively
for this transaction, is contracting with Mapco Auto Parks Ltd. to run the
garage. Mapco is paying the $6.8 million purchase price, but the corporation
will officially own the garage. The deal includes all county surface lots,
including lots yet to come into existence. The contract is good for 20 years.

The garage, on average, earns
$250,000 a year, net profit. Legislator Kevin Murray, a Democrat, says the sale
is another example of the county forsaking future revenues for a one-time
influx of cash.

"[The attitude is] we'll sell
anything," he says. "I believe it to be driven by budgetary considerations, as
opposed to a sound business decision."

The deal is bad, too, Murray says,
because it may impact the county's ability to develop other parcels in the
Civic Center complex.

Mapco Auto Parks has given thousands
of dollars to the county Republican Party this year, including three separate
donations to county executive candidate Maggie Brooks in August.

Correcting
ourselves

In
the article "Sizing up the battle for school board" (City Newspaper, October 22) we left off candidates Woodrow Hammond,
who is endorsed by the Independence Party, and Glenny Williams, who has the
Working Families endorsement. Profiles of both candidates can be found on our
website (www.rochester-citynews.com).